This silky, skin-lightening product with a serum texture has a lot going for it, but one ingredient (discussed below) spoils the party.

On the plus side, this glides over skin and imparts instant radiance due to the cosmetic pigment mica. It also contains several ingredients with a growing body of research proving their worth for lightening dark spots and evening skin tone. Considering this product's cost, those ingredients should be more prominent than they are, but given that they are combined, you'll likely see a difference.

The ingredient that gets this product its lower rating is the preservative methylisothiazolinone. This preservative is a known sensitizer and is generally not advised for use in leave-on products (Sources: Contact Dermatitis, November 2011, pages 276–285). Although there isn't much of it in here, it still poses a risk you don't have to accept. In addition, this contains two forms of fragrance (ethylene brassylate and p-anisic acid) that can conspire to make irritation worse, especially in combination with the preservative discussed above.

Although there's reason to consider this product if you're struggling with brown spots and do not have sensitive skin, for less money and a fragrance-free formula you may want to consider other options on our list of Best Skin-Lightening Products.

Pros:

Silky texture instantly makes skin feel very smooth.

Contains a range of ingredients with research proving their potential efficacy for lightening brown spots.

Leaves a soft, radiant glow.

Cons:

Contains a preservative known to be sensitizing.

Contains two forms of fragrance that, coupled with the sensitizing preservative, puts skin at risk for irritation.

More Info:

Irritation, whether you see it on the surface of your skin or not, causes inflammation, and as a result impairs healing, damages collagen, and depletes the vital substances your skin needs to stay young. For these reasons, it is best to eliminate, or minimize as much as possible, your exposure to known skin irritants, especially when there are brilliant formulas available that do not include these types of problematic ingredients (Sources: Inflammation Research, December 2008, pages 558–563; Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, June 2008, pages 124–135, and November-December 2000, pages 358–371; Journal of Investigative Dermatology, April 2008, pages 15–19; Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, March 2008, pages 78–82; Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, January 2007, pages 92–105; and British Journal of Dermatology, December 2005, pages S13–S22).

Claims

A silky, fast-acting serum that helps to even the appearance of your skin tone and boosts skin brightness. This unique brightening complex leaves your skin looking healthier and younger – with a radiant glow – by helping to reduce the appearance of age spots, acne marks, sun damage and discoloration. Gentle formula is suitable for all skin types and ethnicities.

Strengths: The Cell Block-C products include stablized Vitamin C; some well-formulated moisturizers; decent scrub products; excellent retinol products; some good cleansers plus an exceptional makeup remover; Lip Apeel; very good lip balm with sunscreen; some great foundations (including one with full coverage); very good powder blush and eyeshadow trios; the liquid eyeliner and lip gloss are excellent; some innovative products that make this line deserve a second look.

Weaknesses: Most of the body-care products contain irritating ingredients, as do several others throughout the line; the jar packaging is really disappointing; most of the toners contain problematic ingredients that can hurt skin; almost all of the men's products are full of irritants; limited options for sunscreens, although what's available provides sufficient UVA protection; the Skinlogics Sensitive skin-care line contains ingredients that are problematic for those with sensitive skin; mostly problematic concealers; limited to poor foundation, concealer, and powder shades for women of color.

Texas-based BeautiControl has been around for nearly three decades and has maintained a consistent focus on skin care. Most recently they have shaped their line around the concept of creating your own in-home spa, which the company uses to entice women to host BeautiControl parties for their friends and family. Whether you find out about (or end up purchasing) these products by attending a BeautiControl party or you happen across their Web site, there are some compelling reasons to consider several BeautiControl products. Let's start with the positives.

The best face forward side of BeautiControl is that their price point is not over the top, and mostly reasonable; plus several of their products are exceptional. We also think their overall approach to taking care of skin is well-intentioned. Without question, the ingredients in their best products demonstrate they're keeping up with the state-of-the-art. If they stopped including problematic ingredients and discontinued the poorly formulated products this line would be a much stronger option for consumers looking to take excellent care of their skin while remaining brand-loyal.

BeautiControl's focus on launching more and more miracle products with incredibly misleading claims might help them sell more products, but it doesn't always make for good skin care. And how come they have so few facial moisturizers with sunscreen? Protecting skin from sunlight indisputably keeps it looking younger, firmer, smoother, and even-toned far longer than anything else you can do for skin.

BeautiControl's makeup collection has been streamlined a bit, and that's good news. The foundation colors are divided into warm, cool, and neutral tones though the warm tones (those that begin with the letter Y) are more neutral than warm, which is good news. The cool shades (those that begin with the letter P) are the least impressive. Throughout the color line are some happy surprises, such as the improved powder blush and eyeshadow trios but also some really bland products such as the eye pencil and some gimmicky primer-type products. You'll find some great products whether you want to shop BeautiControl's color line piecemeal or assemble a complete makeup wardrobe, and the prices are reasonable.

Note: We would like to acknowledge and extol how exceptionally helpful the staff at BeautiControl's main office has been in allowing my team and me to compile the information necessary to complete this review. Very few cosmetics companies extend such a high level of service and reliable information to us, and we truly appreciate it.

About the Experts

The Beautypedia Research Team is dedicated to helping you find the absolute best products for your skin, using research-based criteria to review beauty products from an honest, balanced perspective. Each member of the team was personally trained by Paula Begoun herself.